The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method of measuring contamination particles generated during the manufacture of semiconductor devices and an analysis method therefor.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus having the ability to measure individually the contamination particles in a gas utility pipe or in each component of a system used in the manufacture of a semiconductor device by a unit process consisting of the components by using a particle shedding system. The invention also relates to a method for measuring the contamination particles by using the above apparatus and to a method for analyzing the type, the structure and the amounts of the contamination particles by sampling contamination particles existing in a gas pipe or in a test sample generated in a pipe of the apparatus which measures contamination particles generated during the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
In view of the advanced manufacturing techniques and high integration of semiconductor devices, contamination particles generated during the manufacture of the semiconductor devices have a direct influence on the yield and the quality of the devices. Accordingly, it is very important to analyze for the presence of contamination particles and to control the level of contamination to the extent possible. However, until this point in time there has not been a method for controlling the contamination particles generated from an apparatus during manufacture of a semiconductor device, i.e., a total gas delivery system (GDS) and in each component constituting the system (for example, a gas filter, a mass flow controller (MFC), and an air valve).
Therefore, if contamination particles are generated from the apparatus for the unit process, it is necessary to find a technique where the contamination particles generated from the GDS are measured and sampled, the structure and elements thereof are analyzed, and the analyzed data are compared with the contamination particles generated from the apparatus for the unit process.
Further, if a contamination particle is generated inside the apparatus or on a wafer, it is necessary to make a reference where contamination particles generated from the GDS are classified. It is also necessary to analyze the structure and make-up (elements) of the contamination particle or particles generated from each gas used for each process of manufacture semiconductor devices and to thereby systematically classify them.
Many utility components for each use are installed in the GDS which delivers gas for manufacturing semiconductor devices to reaction chambers. The contamination particles generated from the component exert a harmful influence on a following component and cause particle contamination in an actual process.